5 things you should know about ‘clean energy’ minerals and the dirty process of mining them | | UN News
If the world is to move away from fossil fuels, we will need to extract far more rare minerals, to power renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar plants. However, energy experts point out that mining these minerals can be a dirty process, ravaging the environment, and leading to human rights abuses.
4 ...But there are several concerns.
“We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past with a systematic exploitation of developing countries reduced to the production of basic raw materials,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres recently warned. Rights groups have warned of human rights abuses throughout the industry, including at mines in developing countries. There have also been reports of forced labour at some sites.
Mining can devastate the environment if done unsustainably, leading to deforestation, water pollution and what is known as dewatering. Just to take one example, it takes two million litres of water to extract a single tonne of lithium. But some 50 per cent of global copper and lithium production are concentrated in areas with water scarcity.
5 The UN is working to ensure the sustainable mining of minerals.
A UN-wide effort is under way to ensure energy transition minerals are fairly and sustainably managed. The push was launched in 2023, with the aim of building trust, reliability and sustainability into the supply chains of these minerals.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN Environment Programme is working with the authorities to develop a national plan for the extraction of minerals, like cobalt. The plan would focus on minimizing the environmental impact of mining and explore whether local and international institutions can help resolve conflict around mineral extraction.
The sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) will be held from 26 February to 1 March 2024 at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. Delegates are expected to advance action on the sustainable mining of minerals and metals, and other key environmental issues.
